Puzzled by INR

[fergua3]

A buyer just opened a case.   A common story...item was sold Oct 3, shipped Oct 4.  Haven't heard a peep from buyer until now, when they open an INR case.  No request for replacement item, just wants money back.  The usual.

I had zero in my MP account and in the past when that happens the account shows a negative balance for what i owe the buyer.  But this time it is still showing a zero balance.  And on the right hand margin under 'Recent Activity', it shows that the hold of $31.90 has been released, but no explanation as to why.

i am unable to find the range Ebay gives as to when the item should arrive and when the buyer has until to open an INR request under Ebays Money Back Guarantee.  So i don't know if the buyer is within the time range or not.  Emails i got from Ebay don't say anything about not having to refund becasue the Money Back Guarantee period has expired, so i assume the buyer opened the case in the nick of time.

Hence my confusion.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Was it tracked, untracked? What was the estimated delivery date?

It looks like you have a delivery window of 30 or so days on your items. For example, if a buyer purchases something from you today it says it might not arrive until January 2nd. That would give them until February to open a case for an untracked item (January 2nd+30 days).

It's possible if this was untracked, you had a very patient buyer who didn't want the hassle of opening a case until the last minute. While there are scammers, I don't think it's fair to always assume a buyer who opens an INR case isn't genuine. While rare, stuff does get delivered to the wrong house, mail gets lost, delayed, etc.

If it is tracked and you have tracking that shows a successful delivery, just provide that in the case. 

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

I disagree. 

If an item hasn't arrived after 60 days, and the delivery window for a replacement is 30+ days, it isn't unreasonable for a buyer to ask for a refund and go somewhere else. Especially in this day and age when there are many services that guarantee 2 day shipping. 

There are scammers, but not every INR is a scammer. In most cases, it's just bad luck. I say this because the rate of people who come back and ask to repay after an INR is very high, at least in my category of media. Perhaps it is different in trading cards, sports cards, or other categories that target different demographics. 

[marnotom!]

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@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:

If it was shipped tracked, it should be 30 days after when it was marked as delivered. 

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Of course, this would apply to a SNAD claim.  If the item is marked as delivered, the item should have reached the buyer and there'd be no reason for them to file for an INR.  In theory, at least.  😄

[fergua3]

well, despite not getting any answer to my messages i sent the buyer, and being 99% certain this is a scam from somebody who got their item and now wants it for free, i have decided to refund.

It was shipped untracked, so i have no proof it was delivered....and the deal is with online selling that if you can't prove delivery you refund.  So, while i hate it, i am going to.  

[flipistics]

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@fergua3 wrote:

well, despite not getting any answer to my messages i sent the buyer, and being 99% certain this is a scam from somebody who got their item and now wants it for free, i have decided to refund.

It was shipped untracked, so i have no proof it was delivered....and the deal is with online selling that if you can't prove delivery you refund.  So, while i hate it, i am going to.  

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IMO that's the right thing to do. Once enough time has passed that you can no longer refund through eBay, I wouldn't though. That would open you up to potentially refunding them through a third party, then have them open a chargeback or something.

[fergua3]

yeah, i realize.  Ebay's email told me to refund by Dec 5, so i am going to wait until Dec 4, just in case i hear back from the buyer and if not, refund on the 4th so i at least get my fees back.

[marnotom!]

I agree that you made the right decision to refund even if there's no communication by December 4th.  You mentioned that this buyer is also a seller, so they should have some idea how this process works and affects sellers.  You might want to review their feedback received and feedback left for others to see if any sort of patterns emerge, though, and check if they've made any sales recently, while you're at it.

When I did most of my selling a decade or two ago, I found that UK and European buyers weren't wedded to their devices the way we North Americans seem to be.  Your buyer may be caught up in stuff that's keeping them away from eBay and their email.

[fergua3]

i checked the buyer's feedback on day 1 of receiving the INR.   They've left none for the past year.  Prior to that they were leaving feedback all the time.  They currently do about 25 transactions per month, buying and selling yet have left no feedback in the last year.   About a dozen or more sales per month.

For the feedback they have it's quite good.  They left one negative over a year ago in a situation that sounds like it is much like the INR i am involved in.  Otherwise, there feeback seems pretty good.